Ugh neutralising

Before i can paint all  the skin tones, mottling etc on a reborn kit i have to neutralise the vinyl. Well thats all well and good except the different brands of kits come in all shades of vinyl colours! Everything from an awful grey, to a yellow, peach, light orange, orange, very  orange and pink too!

The pink, yellow and grey are awful, pure awful to work with.
Bountiful  babies brought out both the pink and the grey. Their pink makes a great base tone for  doing ethnic babies,  but for  white/caucasian babies its awful.
The grey they brought out recently, its supposed to be a neutral colour. Eeek its not. Just about  every  artist  i know even the top artists have had real trouble trying to neutralise it into a more normal  colour before they can start painting properly.

Well memorial baby A is in this grey!
Bountiful baby have since had such negative feedback about the colour that they have changed the colour again on newer kits, but it still means i have to work with it as baby A is to look like the real baby and this kit is the closest to her.

I got her 'warmed' up and less 'ill' looking, but now ive gone too pinky. My newborn tones on her just arent  right! Its that grey vinyl.
I guess  if you build a wall with a wobbly foundation layer the  rest just isnt going to be right. And thats whats happened here. Plus her lips are a bit 'lipstick' looking for my liking.
I tried to correct the pinky-red with a green wash but its all just going very 'pear shaped' as the saying goes. So im going to strip her back and start again, whilst  scratching my head as how to neutralise her grey vinyl this time!

Normally with most peach to orange kits you would mix up neutralising paint of either mint green, terquoise or pale pale blue.

This time im going to  try and  warm the vinyl up (not literally heat the vinyl but paint  a softer warmer looking color to neutralise her).
So i think i'll start with a few very thin layers of yellow ochre and take it from there!

Here  are the different vinyl colours. I had already started working on baby A's vinyl at that point, so shes a tad less grey.
Look how yellow Lotte kit is comparred to the others as well!

This is baby A so far

But as i said im going to strip all  her paint off and start again!!!

Competition result

The results of the competition are in via email last night, and it wasn't me who won the prototype oppertunity or 2nd or 3rd place.

I didnt expect to win but part of me feels a bit useless and disappointed today.

Everything happens for a reason, and it was a long shot anyhow, and they say what is  meant for you  wont go by you. So it  wasnt meant to  be lol

Maybe one day my dream will come true?! Right now im in the 'im giving it up after ive finished the orders' camp again *sigh* lol

Well done to those who did win though :)

Rainbow of colours

I  decided to do a post about paints. Ever wondered how many paint colours go into a reborn baby?
4? 5? 6? 10??........





Here is my 'Rainbow' of paints that i use!
When i sit and think about it, its amazing how many colours i use and some colours like grey and bright blue and green that you would never think you would need!

Here they are.

I think there are some missing in these pictures.
I  also use about 12-14 ramekin dishes for mixing endless experimental paint combinations in, and porcelaine paint palettes too. I dont have a set routine. I just let my artist mode flow and sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt. No two dolls are ever exactly the same.
Some of my best reborns have been ones ive slapped the paint on in a furious mode.
My competition baby i painted 3 times! The last time i was getting quite furious with myself for my  sudden lack of painting skills. I thought to myself "well here we go again i'll   have to  restart it  for the 4th time!! So i threw caution to the wind and literally slapped the paint on 90 mph!! I was certain it was just going to  make matters worse, for not only was i guessing at colour combinations for each  layer of paint but i was also 'speed painting' me and my Aries temperament again.... *blush*.
As it was the going with the flow rather than analising every  stroke paid off with one of my best babies to date.
I guess my dad was watching over me that day. My aim was very newborn tones and by fluke, luck or magic i got it!!

Another thing i use is tons of paint brushes, often with just 2 or 3 hairs left in them, and cosmetic wedge sponges well lets just say i must be keeping them in business! Its funny as they cant be any old cosmetic/make up wedge sponge, no it has to be the firmer, denser variety!
Its  impossible to make just enough paint as well. All that time  mixing it, out of each mixture for each layer i'll end up needing approx a tenth, a twentyith of the mixed paint,  the rest will  just then evapourate and  dry out. Sometimes more thinners can be added sometimes not.
The paint brushes can be a touchy subject most seem either too firm or too soft. In the beginning i bought a properreborning set. Need to get another set soon but i'll have to sneek those in at almost £50 a set!

So ive just tidied up my tub of paints  tonight. I'll give it 5 minutes painting before they are all randomly scattered in the tub again lol!

Here is my competition entry pics!!!

Here is my 5 pics for the competition.
I hope the judges like them!  eek!

Photo shoot for competition

Im just  busy putting the finishing touches to my competition baby and doing his photo shoot!
Its tough going, and nerve  wracking.
Praying my baby is  good enough, but not expecting to win obviously!

1st prize in the amazing opertunity to be allowed to reborn a prototype baby!!!
That woud be all my Christmas and Birthdays rolled into one!!

I'll be back later on with the 5 photos im submitting... eek!

Questions, questions

Questions,  questions....

Here are my fun questions & answers.

1/ First Reborn doll made:

Well i actually made 2 reborns at once. A kit called Sugar and another called Erica
I must have been mad starting off with  £50 &  £60 kits. Sugar became a boy called 'Alfie' and Erica a girl called 'Bryony'.
Here they are:
Alfie

Erica

2/ Worst reborn

Freddie! This  doll  kit hated me, im sure it did. It was so problematic from start to finish. I once even slung its head on the floor in a childish 34 going  on 4 years old temper! *blush*. He gave me weeks of trouble fitting his eyes. I  have  never had an eye'd doll  kit have so much trouble getting the eyes in. The rooting gave me hell. Glueing it, everthing!! Luckily his new mummy absolutely adores him, which is good as i very nearly binned him lol.

Now i think he's kinda cute!

3/ Quickest reborn  to make

My quickest reborn was Finley. He was  reborned from a newly released  Limited edition kit called 'Jack'. He was the  first reborn i painted the hair on. He took me just 7 days to make!

4/ Longest Reborn to Make

Harry  bless him. He was a portrait baby. I never minded how long it took me to make Harry at all, i really enjoyed making him, but i felt so embarrased at how long his poor mummy was kept  waiting. If it was me id have been well cheesed off. I think he took me about 4 months+?!!!! His mummy was soo sweet and patient ;)

5/ Smallest Reborn

My smallest was two Reborns both made from the same kit. The kit was called Christina by sculptor Petra Lechner. They were both 12"  long. I loved doing this kit so much i have another  2 kits to reborn, so 4 in total!

6/ Biggest Reborn

My biggest reborns were twins Alice &  Emily. They were some of my earlier babies.

Alice & Emily were 26" tall  and wore 9-12 month size clothes. I loved them, everyone else hated them   lol.

7/ First Ethnic Reborn

My first ethnic reborn was  Trinity. Ethnic babies are incredibly hard to paint without ending up blotchy coloured or with orange tinges. I was quite pleased with her when i finished her.

8/ How many reborns do i own of my own?

Technically i have 3 finished ones  (Trinity, Alice & Emily), well in parts anyhow!!

Because i am always improving my techniques at such a fast rate i find i am a bit of a perfectionist! I cant keep a reborn as even sat in a box i start to critasize my   work and have ideas of how i could improve them. So before i know it i end up disasembling them ready to strip the paint and hair off and redo them!!! Bad  mummy that i am!

Kits wise i have about 30 waiting to be done.

 I used to  say i was giving up the hobby but id wait till until id used all my kits up first and sold them. These days i say i'll give it up after ive finished doing all my orders as well. Im lucky enough to have several orders in the pipeline  so i guess i wont be giving up  and time soon lol. My mum & hubby laugh at me and my giving up mode (its usually when  its not going right or i have artists block and is often weekly that i say it. Well it is a very  frustraiting hobby at times lol!!!).

The longest time ive 'given up properly for' was about 6 hours, in my before orders days. I actually got as far as putting all my reborn stuff in a huge box, paints, brushes, needles etc etc. The box  was so big hubby had to remove it for me. I enjoyed my  time not  being a reborn artist for the first hour,  was trawling round the reborn forums by the second hour..... and by  the 6th hour i asked poor hubby to bring it all back again lol.

Im sure he could have throttled me and my Aries  temperament!!! *blush*

9/ Work In progress

Im currently working on a memorial baby boy. Hes such a big 22" chunky fella the kit is i mean. (Libby kit by Cindy musgrove)

And am also working on a wee custom baby a 14" girl.

10/ What's  next?

Im lucky enough to have several  to do next:

A memorial baby girl

then a custom baby girl

11/ Don't bother

I once  tried sculpting. Haha  is all  i can say on that score.

The following monster 'baby' proves why the sculptors who sculpt the clay babies for kits are a lot  more talented than me!!

Here is my first attempt.  Don't say i didn't warn you! lol

and my second attempt!

Gee whizz i dont think i'll  be sculpting again in a hurry rofl!

Wow!!! Swap!

Wow!! Remember  that dream baby with a torso in my last post?
Never in a million years did i think id be able to afford one.......
Well i had a newish very popular kit, Andi. I wasnt that  fussed on it but everyone else seems to  love it.
So i posted it on one of the  artists forums for swapping. Several people wrote back offering various kits they had to swap. Some kits were lovely, some not.
But the end result is one of the ladies who i buy all my reborn supplies from her online shop is going to swap me for my dream baby kit.
I still  have to pay  nearly £40  towards it, but im well excited as ive done belly lates before but never a half torso.

Im  getting the girl torso but have a choice between two heads to go with it.

So i can  have either

Serah

or Julie

Oh  its so hard to  choose!!!

Tiny

Im  trying to find an outfit for the baby which is my competition entry.
I have to have this sorted to enter the photos by the 18th eek.

Mum is  busy knitting a cardigan to go with it.
The aim is a very  newborn look so im looking at cotton type sleepsuits like you would put on a just born  baby in the hospital.

Anyways trawling round the net i found this pic. Brings back some memories!
This kit is about  20" but is gorgeous. She is the Erica kit by Shawna Clymer. This was the first kit i did, well her and jointly sugar kit by Donna Rubert as well.
Mine ended up with lighter hair colour,  but i love this one. The prototype artist did an amazing job on her.

There is never enough hours in the day to do all these kits im falling in love with lately!

I Love this kit!!

Ive been looking  at kits again tonight,  as i often do, and ive found another one for my dream wishlist lol
Firstly excuse me for naked doll pics, im not obsessed with doll parts but i love this half torso by Adrie.
The torso comes with a half doe suede body, the legs/bum/belly part and arms
She then sells 3 different heads to go with it.
This makes a baby approx 18" so maybe at a guess a smaller newborn size maybe  if it was a real baby it would be about 6lb  something.
I love this kit!!
Its not cheap £128 with shipping, but considering what you get i actually think its a bargain.
If i did this one id possibly do a magnetic umbilical  cord that is removeable as well.
Ah i could just see her with a magnetic hair bow as well. And think of all the cute girlie clothes, ruffled bum baby vests, little tutus,  and headbands etc.
Aww!
anyways here she is!!!

with this head...

unpainted kit at the start...

Off to buy some lottery tickets lol!

More Gorgeous kits

More gorgeous kits!

Crying babies (i so want to hug these ones lol)

Quinton

Puddin

Blake i think his kit is sold out now though?

Cozy

Wee Maisie. Another kit i should be getting soon fingers crossed!

Sophie

Vivien

Zinny

So many gorgeous kits

There are so many gorgeous reborn kits out there now. Here are just a few of my favourites!

Not reborned by me in these pics:

Melody i have this kit

Lil Grumpy (i did reborn this one. He was one of my earlier babies.  I have his kit again)

Eliza

 

Naomi. This kit is still in pre order stage (kit still under manufacturing  process). She would make a fabulous newborn  looking baby!

Maggie Mae. I have her head. I need to get limbs to  go with her. Her head is huge!! She'll make a very large baby

Nico.  He is so newborn looking. I really love this one!! I bet he'd make a lovely  girl or boy

Shylah. All being well i should be getting this kit. I will be doing her as a twin with another  kit by the same sculptor

Paige another newly released  kit! Another newborn looking one that i love!Picture is of her clay baby which the kits were molded from. Look  at her gorgeous leggies!

LeeLu.  Gorgeous!!

Amy  another newly released kit

Zasha! Zasha has the most gorgeous  just born head shape and scrunched up  face. I sooo want to do this one soon!

Back with tons of more gorgeous kits later